The Dems' secret weapon
Stony Brook University could make an impact in supervisor election
1 comments below
About 15 Stony Brook students crossed campus in the freezing rain Wednesday to attend the new semester's first meeting of the university's Democratic Club. They sent text messages and typed away on their laptops as they waited for club president Alex Nagler to officially kick off the meeting.
Then Mr. Nagler, a senior, turned to the chalkboard and wrote down a name and date: Mark Lesko, 3/31.
"The name of the guy we work for is Mark Lesko," he told his fellow Democrats, pointing to the name as it appeared next to the date of the special election for Brookhaven town supervisor.
And thus a new campaign began on the campus of Stony Brook University, where more Democrats are registered to vote than in any other election district in the Town of Brookhaven.
New York State Board of Elections records show there are nearly 1,500 actively registered Democrats currently residing on the Stony Brook campus. No other election district in Brookhaven has more than 1,000 enrolled Democrats.
In a special election where only about 14 percent of registered voters are expected to show up at the polls, the key to victory for either side may very well rest in how many would-be voters they inspire to have their say on Election Day. And Stony Brook University could make a difference for the Democrats.
President Obama was chosen by 1,778 of the 2,324 students who cast a vote at the university's polling station last November, a 77 percent landslide. And while voter turnout in Suffolk County was about 75 percent, more than 80 percent of Stony Brook University voters had their say. The challenge facing the campus' Democratic Club in March is getting nearly half of those students as excited for a local election in a community where many of them did not grow up and probably won't live beyond college.
And so the strategy session began Wednesday, as club members started to think of ways to inspire their fellow students to vote. They spoke of "dorm storming," or knocking on campus housing doors encouraging others to vote, and voter registration drives -- the campus registered more than 700 new voters in 2008. The students also spoke of ways to brand the name Lesko on campus.
"We should make Lesko signs using the Obama font," suggested club treasurer Darla Gutierrez.
The practice of holding voter registration drives on campus, where most of the students registered to vote are not "permanent" residents of Brookhaven, is something that does not sit well with local Republicans.
"It's been a problem for a long time," said Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), who until this month served as the chairman of the State Senate higher education committee.
Mr. LaValle, and fellow Sen. John Flanagan (R-Northport), whose district includes Stony Brook University, both expressed concern over the potential for students who attend Stony Brook to be enrolled in more than one place. So, too, did Brookhaven Town Republican chairman Jesse Garcia.
"If you're one person, you can only be registered in one place," Mr. Garcia said.
Mr. Nagler, however, said he takes an active interest in local politics both here and back home in Brooklyn, where he grew up. In fact, he said the only reason he's registered to vote on campus right now is for the town supervisor election. He said he intends to change his registered address sometime after the special election, so he can vote this November in the New York City mayoral election.
"That's outright voter fraud," Mr. Flanagan said, adding that he believes a person can have only one permanent address. On its Web site, the New York State Board of Elections says a resident is eligible to vote in any local, state or federal election so long as they "live at their present address at least 30 days before an election." Another guideline says registered voters "cannot claim the right to vote elsewhere." So by switching their addresses, residents of Stony Brook University could be exploiting a loophole. Mr. Flanagan, who has served as chairman of the Senate elections committee, said the state is in the process of launching a statewide database that will track voter registration to prevent residents from enrolling in multiple places.
"This way if someone lives in Mount Sinai, but they're attending school in Binghamton, you can see that they really live in Mount Sinai and that's where they should vote," Mr. Flanagan said.
"It's about protecting the integrity of the vote," Mr. Flanagan said. "We need to make sure everyone is properly registered."
But Mr. Nagler and members of his club defended their right to vote on campus Wednesday night.
"I live in both places," Mr. Nagler said. "I also work [on campus] and therefore pay taxes here. I have a right to vote here."
Town Democratic chair Marsha Laufer, a former Stony Brook professor, agreed.
"They drive on Brookhaven roads, they frequent local businesses, they go to the town's beaches and parks, they have every right to vote and we should be encouraging our young to vote," Ms. Laufer said.
How much those students are encouraged could go a long way in determining the March election. The most recent Brookhaven special election -- the 2002 vote for council districts -- was decided by fewer than 800 votes, with only 61 votes cast on the Stony Brook University campus. If the Democratic Club can come anywhere close to reaching the goal of 700 voters on March 31, they may very well make a difference in the outcome of the election.
"We're going to give it our best effort," Mr. Nagler said.
gparpan@northshoresun.com
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Defamation : 1/30/2009
Isn't that outright slander on Senator Flanagan's part? Voter fraud is a crime, and it was in no way perpetrated.
